There is a lot of anger among my Facebook friends regarding North Carolina's gay marriage ban. I thought it might be worth explaining some of the strategic context - why pass a constitutional amendment to ban something that is already banned?

The strategy is to motivate conservative voters to show up for the primary. Primaries typically have low voter turnout. People who vote in the primary are more likely to vote in the general election. As North Carolina is considered a "battleground state," reinforcing conservative voter's commitment to vote in that state is part of the Republican strategy to win the general election.

So in other words, most of the people who put this amendment on the ballot don't really give a damn about gay rights one way or the other. They care about the Presidency, and they are using people's hate to rally their troops so that they can win it. Its worth understanding the bigger game that is being played.